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Wednesday 04 November 2020
The omens were not bad: With several contested seats for the United States Senate, polls indicated a head-to-head race between Democrats and Republicans. The former absolutely wanted to attract a majority in the House of Congress. But that is increasingly unlikely.
In the US Congressional elections, Democrats were predicted to defend their majority in the House of Representatives. At the same time, after much euphoria, they suffered a severe setback in the fight for the Senate. Several Republican senators, who were considered unstable candidates, were able to defend their seats. In the remaining open elections, Republicans have a good chance of winning a majority of 51 out of 100 seats. In the event of an electoral victory, this could make government much more difficult for future President Joe Biden; for Donald Trump it would be extremely important support in the event of a victory.
The Senate plays a key role in legislation. It also confirms candidates for high government positions or the Supreme Court, among other things. In impeachment proceedings against a president, the Senate assumes the position of court. The number of votes you need in the Senate for a majority depends on who sits in the White House. Because in a deadlock of 50 to 50 votes, the vice president can intervene. At 8:15 pm CET, Republicans were heading toward a majority in the Senate, according to forecasts. According to the AP, 48 of the 100 seats have been secured so far, Democrats 45. The two independent candidates who were not eligible for this year’s election are among the Democrats.
Consequently, the results of four Republicans and one Democrat were still open. One of these seats, in the state of Georgia, will not be decided in a second round until early January. Each state sends two senators to Congress, until now Republicans had a majority of 53 out of 100 seats. At 8:15 pm CET, the Democrats were able to win a seat. They lost one, but they won two. Unsurprisingly, the Democrats lost the Alabama Senate seat. Democratic Senator Doug Jones was defeated by former football coach Tommy Tuberville, who ran for Republicans.
Promising candidates fail
Democrats were able to take two seats away from Republicans at the same time. In the state of Colorado, Democrat John Hickenlooper beat Republican Cory Gardner. And in Arizona, astronaut Mark Kelly won against Republican Martha McSally.
The Democrats could lose one of their previous seats as well: For Gary Peters in Michigan things didn’t look good for a long time during the count, then he caught up and, according to TV stations, went head-to-head with his Republican. . Challenger John James. In Alaska and North Carolina, the two Republican candidates were currently in the lead. Georgia will have at least one runoff election for an open Senate seat in January. A runoff election for the second seat in the state Senate was in the realm of possibility.
The Democrats had entered election night with great confidence. There were 25 Republican seats in the Senate to vote, and polls in many places saw at least one head-to-head race. But the disappointments came quickly. So, Democrat Jamie Harrison in South Carolina could not prevail against former chairman of the judicial committee Lindsey Graham. Harrison had caused a sensation by collecting the one-time donation of more than $ 57 million for a Senate election. Maine Sen. Susan Collins also defended her seat, according to the AP.
Chosen QAnon Supporter
Meanwhile, television stations NBC and Fox News predicted that Democrats will retain their majority in the US House of Representatives. So far, they have held 232 of the 435 seats in the House of Congress, which was fully ready to vote on Tuesday. At 6:45 p.m. CET on Wednesday, 198 Democrats and 185 Republicans were elected according to calculations by the AP news agency. The Republicans won five seats. 218 votes in the chamber are needed for a majority.
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi fiercely defended her seat in California, who had already made it clear that she wanted to run again for the leadership position.
Among Republicans, politician Marjorie Taylor Greene was elected to the House of Representatives, who is seen as a supporter of the QAnon conspiratorial movement. The central claim of QAnon supporters is that there is a conspiracy against US President Donald Trump in the deepest layers of the US government apparatus. They also often claim that prominent politicians in the Democratic Party in the United States have been treated with hormones made from children’s blood.
Several Republican leaders have condemned QAnon’s theories. President Donald Trump struggled with that on several occasions and expressly endorsed Greene. Republican candidate Laura Loomer, who was banned from major online platforms for anti-Islamic agitation among other things, lost her race for a seat in Florida.
